Second Impressions
by xxStarBrightxx
Summary: The anger from before intensified. "And that's somehow my fault?" I had nothing to do with her death. With any of this. They were acting like it was all my fault. I wanted to scream at them- tell them to look at me, damn it! Rae's POV after Reckoning.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** **Hey! I'm back! Thank you to everyone who reviewed/story alerted/favorited my other story~ now here's a new one (nothing to do with the first) This takes place shortly after The Reckoning and it's about Rae after her mom gets her out of the lab. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Darkest Powers- Kelley Armstrong does. Let's face it, if I did- they wouldn't be _nearly _as good.

Second Impressions

There was a knock on the front door.

No. No, no, no, no, no! They _can't_ have found us! I panicked and snuck a glance at my mother. Her eyes were wide and we stared at each other in shock. We were both thinking the same thing: somehow, the Edison Group had found us.

It was barely a month and a half since my mother, Jacinda, had gotten me out of the lab. It had been a few days after Tori and Chloe had run off. I'd hated them for it, too. Why? Tori I could understand- she'd runaway for no reason other than for attention from her bitch of a mom. She wouldn't last long though. Tori, _Tori Enright,_ living on the streets? Ha!

But Chloe on the other hand, was different. Chloe wanted to please authority figures. Always did what she was told. She was nice. She obeyed rules. Of course, she had also tried to run away with the guys before, but that was when they had been filling her head with conspiracy theories.

Well, I guess they weren't 'theories' after all.

After my mom busted me out, she'd explained everything: the experiments, the modifications, and the failures. But as far as I knew, I wasn't a failure. My powers weren't out of control- the opposite, actually. I couldn't even light a match. So maybe I was a success- I had a reduction in side effects, meaning I didn't have enough power to do anything that would cause these so-called 'side effects'.

Or maybe my powers just hadn't kicked in yet. I remembered Chloe telling me that her powers had hit her all of the sudden when she got her first period. Well, I'd gotten my first period a long time ago and still no crazy over-the-top abilities.

I wondered how Chloe was dealing with her powers. She was always so skittish- she didn't need ghosts jumping out at her every time she turned around.

Truth is, I wondered about Chloe a lot. Did she find the guys? Or had Tori killed her first (I wouldn't put it past her)? What about the guys' dad? Was Chloe even still alive?

Of course, I would know all of these things if I'd gone with them. I was glad I hadn't gone, though. If I had then I would have never met my mother.

As much as I tried to downplay it, though, I felt guilty about Chloe. I could get over turning the guys in. I didn't care about them and they sure didn't care about what happened to me. But Chloe had trusted me. We'd been friends. At least- I'd _thought_ we'd been friends.

Back at Lyle House, when she'd started to grow closer to Simon and Derek; planning an escape with them- I'd been hurt. _We_ were supposed to be friends. She should have confided in _me_ about the crawlspace fiasco- not the brothers. It sounds pretty stupid, but I was a little jealous. Like some little kid who's pissed off 'cause their BFF won't play with them anymore. She's found new friends.

And I guess that's why I'd told the nurses that we were escaping: a bit of revenge. And at the same time, I had convinced myself that I was doing it for her own good. Chloe couldn't live on the streets. She was a 'rich girl'- used to a bed every night, housemaids, nannies, a clean place to stay, a bathroom.

And then at the lab, when Chloe had tried to convince me that we were in danger and had to escape, I had refused and accused her of lying about Liz, Brady, and Amber. With a pang of grief I reminded myself that she'd probably been right about their deaths- as well as everything else.

Even when the truth had been staring me in the face, I'd refused to see it. Refused because I didn't want to believe that the people who had given me something special could possibly be the bad guys. They'd given me the secrets to my powers, and more importantly: my mom.

But they had lied. About everything. And now we were on the run. We'd been staying in motels and, occasionally, a cheap apartment, and praying that they wouldn't find us. I'd even started to believe that they wouldn't.

Now, sitting here, staring at my mom with the Edison Group right outside the door of the motel room, I realized that I had been wrong. Again.

Finally, my mom snapped into defense mode and rose slowly, quietly, and gestured toward the back door. I nodded and followed her lead, moving slowly, silently. We hadn't even made it more than a couple of steps before I heard an exasperated sigh from the front door and a voice I remembered all too well.

"Rae?" a tentative voice asked. "Rae…i-it's us."

Chloe.

That was Chloe's voice- she was alive! I spun around, ready to run to the door and throw it open, but I was stopped by my mother's hand flying out to stop me.

"Spells," she whispered under her breath, her eyes soft, an apology hidden beneath them. I wanted to argue. I wanted to push her out of the way and go see Chloe. I wanted to _force_ her out of the way- using my powers if necessary, but I reeled in my anger, my frustration. She was right. It could be the Edison Group trying to trick us. I needed to be more careful, less trusting, because our lives depended on it. I should have learned that the first time.

So I followed her to the back door and we snuck out, going as quietly as possible. We were headed towards the woods for cover, then we'd find away to loop back to the road and move on, move far, far away.

We made it as far as the edge of the tree line before someone stepped out of the woods to stop us.

We were trapped.

So…what'd you think? I hope you liked it! It was a lot of inner monologue, I know, but I wanted to set the stage and also explain why I think Rae betrayed them. Give me your predictions, too- who do you think has them cornered? The gang? Or the remnants of the Edison Group? Or something altogether more sinister? Review please and I'll get to work on the next chapter soon!


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: awww so sad- only two people reviewed! :'( well a shout out to you guys: DreamDark and derekandchloe4ever. I hope people review more for this chapter…*puppy dog eyes* I've changed the summary for Second Impressions too. Maybe more people will click on it? Let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: Actual conversation between my brother and I:**

**Me: omg! **

**MB (my brother): what?**

**Me: I was reading fanfiction and out of the corner of my eye I kept seeing this weird silverish flashing light thing.**

**MB: huh?**

**Me: yeah it's so weird cause when I look, there's nothing there- maybe it's a ghost or something! Maybe I'm a necromancer! *jumps up and down excitedly* **

**MB: uh you know DP isn't real, right? And even if it was, you still wouldn't own it, Kelley Armstrong does.**

**Me: Then what the hell is wrong with my eye?**

_We made it as far as the edge of the tree line before someone stepped out of the woods to stop us._

_We were trapped. _

My mom pulled me behind her protectively, then she drew the gun she'd bought for our protection. "Don't move," she told the figure. It was a large man, tall and muscular. Slowly he raised his hands to show he wasn't armed. There was something familiar about him…

"Show yourself," Mom said. Slowly, he emerged from the shadows. Once I could see his face, I gasped.

"Mom! Don't shoot, it's-" but the sentence died in my mouth as I got a good look at him. "-Derek."

He had changed in that short span of time since I'd seen him last. His face was clear of acne, his hair looked better, not lank or greasy anymore. But he was still just as intimidating. He loomed over us both, and my mother wasn't exactly a short woman, so that was saying something. He was also wearing a light t-shirt instead of his customary baggy sweatshirt that revealed incredibly toned arms.

Definitely was not expecting _that_.

My mom lowered the gun a hair, but didn't put it away. She was still being cautious. 'Who are you?" she asked, eyes narrowed.

He kept his hands in the air. He was scowling. Well, _that_ much hadn't changed. "My name is Derek Souza. I was at Lyle House with Rae." He twisted my name, like it tasted bitter in his mouth. I also noticed he wouldn't make eye contact with me, only addressing my mother.

"So that _was_ Chloe at the door," I said. My mom lowered the gun a few more inches.

"Yeah," he said. A strange look passed over his face when I said that. "She went around front with Tori and my Dad."

"You found your Dad?" I asked. He looked at me for the first time, then rolled his eyes.

"Well obviously we found-"

"So why are you back here by yourself?" Mon cut him off, still wary.

"We figured you might think it was a trick and try to sneak away, so I followed-" He stopped short of finishing his sentence and seemed to think better of it. "Besides, I'm not-"

"Hello Rachelle," a woman's voice said, cutting him off. Mon raised the gun again, now pointing it in the direction of the new voice. A woman emerged from the woods, followed by another boy about my age.

"Simon!" I said, in spite of myself.

"Hello Rae," He said, a little contempt edging it's way into his voice. I looked down, embarrassed as I remembered why he'd be less than eager to be friendly to me. "You know, bro," he said, turning to Derek. "just because _you_ can run through the woods at lightening speed, doesn't mean we all can." Derek merely grunted in response.

I barely noticed the exchange, though. I was too busy looking at the woman. Out of all three of them, she was the only one to look me in the eye.

Suddenly, I recognized her. It was Chloe's aunt. My eyes widened and I tensed. Chloe's Aunt Lauren was with the Edison Group. I'd known because she was the one who I'd taken Chloe to after she'd hurt herself trying to escape. She'd drugged Chloe. Handed her back to the Edison Group. She'd betrayed her.

Just like me.

Dr. Fellows seemed to have realized what I was thinking, because she said, "Hold your fire. We're on your side. I realize you may not believe me…" A look passed over her face briefly- a look of remorse; guilt. I knew that look. "And I understand if you don't. But at least give us a chance to explain what's happened. There are certain things you need to know."

"I don't care what's happened," My mom said suddenly. I could sense her anger rising. "We don't want any information. We don't want to be a part of this. Of any of this." She looked at each of their faces in turn. "Now you need to leave; all of you. If what you say is true, then the Edison Group must be after you too. We aren't going to endanger our lives by affiliating with you. We have enough trouble."

"And we understand that, Jacinda. Believe me, I know how you feel about protecting your child." A man stepped out of the forest. He was a little taller than Simon, with silvering black hair and Asian features. I realized he must be Simon and Derek's Dad. We watched as two more figures followed him.

Chloe and Tori.

Tori was the same as ever; proud and arrogant. A diva, just like she always was. She walked forward with her hands folded across her chest and her nose in the air, an annoyed expression on her face. But there was something in her eyes. A hardened look that said she'd been through a lot.

The first thing I noticed about Chloe was her hair. It was black. She had dyed it? Why? I didn't stop to wonder about that for long, though. I was trying to catch Chloe's eye. She was pointedly looking in the opposite direction. How could she, of all people, not look at me? A little bit of anger flared up inside of me.

"How did you find us?" Simon asked them.

"Liz," Mr. Bae said simply.

My heart rose with excitement. Liz was here? She was alive? I waited for her to emerge from the trees as well. When she didn't I said, "Liz is alive?"

"No."

It was Tori who spoke. Her voice was rough and forceful. I looked at her and saw that she was glaring dangers at me. "No, Rae. Liz is _dead. _She's a ghost now. They _killed_ her."

The anger from before intensified. "And that's somehow my fault?" I had nothing to do with her death. With any of this. They were acting like it was all my fault. I wanted to scream at them- tell them to look at me, damn it!

But Tori was the only one that did. She approached me now, disregarding my mother's still raised gun. Her eyes danced with fury and sparks shot from her fingertips. "You little backstabbing traitor!" she yelled. "Don't you act all self-righteous! Don't you just stand there and-"

"_Tori_." Mr. Bae's hand was on her shoulders, holding her back. I doubt that would have stopped her, but just then, Chloe spoke up.

"Tori, you need to calm down." Her voice was soft, soothing, but with a sense of urgency in it. There was this tense moment when we all just stood there, wondering if she was going to explode. I looked at each of them, confused, but they all just looked at Tori, worried expressions on their faces. Finally, with one last glare in my direction, she left. Just turned around and walked back into the forest.

"Well _she_ hasn't changed much," I said with a snort, trying to lighten the mood.

"Hey give her a break, she's been through more than you know." Simon was glaring at me now too. Since when did _Simon_ defend Tori?

"How come you're-"

"Listen," Mr. Bae interrupted, still eyeing the gun. "Can we please go somewhere to talk? Back to the motel, perhaps?"

My mother looked at me and I nodded, curiosity winning out. She lowered the gun completely now and gestured for them to lead the way.

Chloe's head snapped up suddenly. "Where?" she asked. I was about to snap at her that we were going to the motel, like Mr. Bae just said and she should pay attention, but she wasn't looking at any of us. She was looking at a spot to the right of Simon. "Yeah." She nodded then looked back behind her for a moment. "Alright." She paused then, "No, I'll go." Then she turned back to the group, still avoiding my gaze.

"Liz says that Tori's a little ways over there." She gestured to a spot in the woods behind her. "I'm going to go find her." Oh. She'd been talking to a ghost.

Liz's ghost.

"No," Derek growled. He looked surprisingly fierce. He put his hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Tori can fend for herself."

"I'll be fine, Derek." Her voice was as calm as it had been when she'd spoken to Tori before, with the same urgent undertone. She removed his hand and spoke again. "Besides, I'll have Liz. Tori's not far."

They locked gazes for a moment, a silent exchange going on between them.

"Fine," Derek said, breaking the silence. Then softer, "Just be careful- and hurry." She nodded and left.

It was the oddest exchange I'd ever seen. What was going on? It seemed for a moment that Derek was worried about her; protective, even. As far as I knew, Derek had never really given a rat's ass about anybody, except for maybe Simon and their Dad.

Whatever had happened over the last few weeks had changed them. Changed them all. And I wondered, as we headed back to the motel: where did that leave me?

**Yay chapter 2 is done! Whew! What did you think? Did you like Tori? How about Rae's reaction to the gang? Was it OOC? Review PLEASE! the more reviews, the faster I'll post- so for extra incentive, here's a little preview of ch. 3:**

"**And what are you?" She asked, looking straight at Derek, eyes locked on target, refusing to be deterred.**

**Mr. Bae opened his mouth to say something, but Derek held up his hand to stop him. He met Mom's glare with one of his own. "That's my business," he said simply.**

**There you go! Also, Chlerek moments are coming- I promise! So press that lovely little button please, please, please! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Thank you guys so, so much for all of the amazing reviews- especially DreamDark, and suzi1811. You make me blush****. You all rock! Anyway here's the next chapter**

**Disclaimer: Me? Own Darkest Power? Ha! Good one…**

___Whatever had happened over the last few weeks had changed them. Changed them all. And I wondered, as we headed back to the motel: where did that leave me?_

When we got back to the motel, it seemed that the room had become divided. I sat on one bed with my mom, and Mr. Bae and Simon sat on the one closer to the door. Dr. Fellows sat at the desk, and Derek paced anxiously by the door. They all sat facing us (all except for Derek who kept casting nervous glances at the door). It was us against them. I suddenly felt trapped.

"Well, I don't know if your daughter has spoken about us at all," Mr. Bae began, clapping his hands together and managing a formal yet cheerful tone, like he was the principal at a parent-teacher conference about to recommend I switch classes and not a supernatural about to tell us…well, whatever he was about to tell us. "so let me begin by introducing us all. My name is Christopher Bae, Kit, if prefer. These are my sons; Simon and Derek." He gestured to each in turn. Mom raised her eyebrows at the idea that Derek was his son, but otherwise didn't comment. Mr. Bae extended his hand in a friendly gesture, but Mom just glared at it until he let it fall by his side. He turned to me next. "I don't believe we've met, Rae. How are you?"

I blinked. "Alright."

He moved on and gestured to the woman in the desk. "This is-"

"Lauren Fellows," she finished. She looked up and smiled at me- a genuine, sympathy-filled smile. "We've met before," she said. Of course, she failed to mention the circumstances under which we met; the mutual betrayal of her niece. Her smile was like a peace offering. It said, "We're in the same boat- I know what you're going through." Call me hypocritical, but I still didn't trust her. After all, _she'd_ known what she was getting Chloe into.

I suddenly felt a fierce rush of emotion. _I_ hadn't known. _I_ thought I'd been doing the right thing. Dr. Fellows was the one that knew better. _She_ should be the one sitting here and feeling like she was on trial, not _me._

My epiphany was interrupted by my mother. "And what about those other girls?" She asked suddenly, her voice a bit harsh. I hadn't spoken to her much about anyone at Lyle House; we'd been too busy finding out about each other. "Who are they? And what are you all? What races of supernaturals are you?"

Mr. Bae ignored her demanding tone and said, "Well, to answer you first question; the shorter girl is Chloe Saunders. And the taller girl with the short hair is my-" He paused for a second and I noticed a strange emotion flint across both his and his son's face. "-her name is Victoria Enright, Tori."

"And my other question?" Mom prompted.

"Well," Mr. Bae said. "Simon and I are sorcerers. Chloe is a necromancer and Tori is a witch." He said the last part a little reluctantly, like he felt weird about telling us this when the girls weren't present.

"I'm human," Dr. Fellows chirped. "But I am also a doctor," she winked. "I've got the power of medicine."

"Now, the girls should be back soon-" Mr. Bae began, but Mom cut him off.

"And what are you?" She asked, looking straight at Derek, eyes locked on target, refusing to be deterred.

Mr. Bae opened his mouth to say something, but Derek held up his hand to stop him. He met Mom's glare with one of his own. "That's my business," he said simply.

The already incredible tension in the room increased. I racked my brain trying to recall, in the time spent at the lab, if anybody had ever mentioned what Derek was. They must have, at some point. Right?

Come to think about it, I don't remember them mentioning what any of the others were, either. I mean, I'd just found out that I was this super-cool half demon thing- who cared about what everyone else was?

I'd only known that Chloe was a necromancer because she'd told me before. Finding out that Simon was a sorcerer wasn't that big of a surprise, I suppose, especially after that incident with Brady. And Tori definitely fit the mold for a witch.

But what was Derek? Based on what Chloe and I had read in his file and the fact that no one had been worried about finding him at the lab, only Simon, I figured it probably wasn't a good thing.

And it hit me; he's dangerous. I made a mental note to stay the hell away from him.

My mom was about to retort, but Derek's head snapped up and he broke eye contact with her. For a second I thought he was going to freak out or something, but instead he spun around, opened up the door, and stuck his head out.

"We're over here," he said to someone outside. Then he opened the door wider and let in Tori and Chloe. "You took long enough," he said.

"We were checking in," Tori snapped. "Why so touchy Wol-"

"Tori!" Simon interrupted with an urgent expression on his face. Tori looked confused, but Simon rolled his eyes.

What the hell were they hiding from me?

"Look," Mr. Bae said, a little impatient. "There are things we need to discuss-"

"I'll say," I muttered, looking at Chloe. She had finally met my gaze, her face impassive and a little…apologetic?

"There have been some new developments with the Edison Group," Mr. Bae continued, ignoring me. "And, well, I don't know all of the details, so how about you explain, Simon."

That was a nice, strategic move, Mr. Bae. Tori doesn't know what to say and what to keep secret, plus she might blow up again. Mom and I are already wary of Derek, so he's out. And Chloe is too personally involved. So that leaves Simon. He'll have his story straight and I was never close to him, so he doesn't feel bad about lying. Nice move, Mr. Bae.

"Well," Simon began, much like his father had. "To make a long story short," Tori snorted, but Simon kept going. "After Tori and Chloe escaped from the lab-" a nervous glance in my direction "-and we caught up with each other, we made our way across the state to the house of a family friend of ours." Derek noticeably stiffened. "Well, he turned out to be a traitor." Great, another person they're going to compare me to. "His more radical 'friends' brought us back to the Edison Group. Well, except for Derek, who broke in and helped us all escape. In the process we managed to do two things: first, get a list of other subject that we hope to warn about the experiments-"

"There was no 'we' involved," Tori said, a bit of arrogance in her voice.

Simon brushed of the distinction. "Fine,_ Tori_ got the list off Davidoff's computer." I remembered Tori saying something at the lab about MIT- I'd thought she'd been joking. "And then Dad showed up when we were pretty much cornered and we, um, destroyed their lab. No new experiments for a while."

From the way everyone had suddenly become very intent on studying their shoes, especially Tori, I figured that there was some major editing in that story.

"Of course, that creates a new problem," Mr. Bae said. "We pissed off a Cabal in the process, so we have to keep a low profile for awhile."

"So the Edison Group is destroyed?" My mom clarified.

"Not really destroyed," Mr. Bae said. "More like; mortally wounded." I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, Chloe and Derek having another one of their silent discussions. I saw Derek look at her, and her eyes widen, then compose herself. She raised her eyebrows and he gave a slight nod.

I was really getting sick of all of this cryptic crap.

"Where does that leave us?" She asked. Mr. Bae shrugged.

"Well, you guys seem to be doing pretty well on your own, and that was our main concern; your safety." So that was it, was it? I had to resist the urge to snort and say that we didn't need their help.

"It's getting kind of late," Dr. Fellows said. "Maybe we can discuss this more tomorrow."

"Good idea," Mr. Bae agreed. He turned back to us. "We'll be staying a few doors down. I hope you don't mind…"

"Of course not." Like we had a choice.

They left the room, then split into two groups; boys and girls, and each went into different rooms. I closed the door and turned to my mom.

"They don't trust us." I said.

"I don't trust them." A pause.

"So now what?" I asked.

"I don't know."

**Whoo-hoo another one down! Okay, so in the next chapter, something big is gonna happen! I'm actually really pumped about writing it, so here's a sneak peak:**

"Chloe…" It was Derek's voice, strained and rough. I heard a faint knock again. Then the sound of door itself, opening slowly.

"Hold on." Chloe's voice now, soft. "I'm just gonna tell Tori where we're going." Tori? Wait, where were they going? I heard a slight rustling through the paper-thin walls, some more soft voices, and then the door again.

I was sick of secrets, of not knowing what was going on. It was time for some answers.

I grabbed my jacket off of the chair and tip-toed outside to follow them.

**Alrighty guys, you know the drill! Pretty please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: I really should be working on my English summer project, but no- fanfiction comes first! Lucky for you guys. Thank you so so much for all of the amazing reviews, especially: LittleAngel2292 (actually I hadn't thought of that, I figured she was gonna stay the same for now), suzi1811(always a great reviewer! Kit didn't say anything about Tori because they're being careful about how much information they let slip, they don't know if it's important or not. Plus it's still a bit of an awkward matter at the moment), Winter Midnight (thank you! That's what I was going for!)**

**Keep reviewing- I love you all!**

**Disclaimer: I don't have a funny creative way to say that I don't own Darkest Powers because I used up all of my creative juice writing this chapter at midnight last night.**

"_They don't trust us." I said._

_"I don't trust them." A pause._

_"So now what?" I asked._

_"I don't know."_

That night I couldn't sleep.

I was tossing and turning long after even my mom had let down her guard. Of course, she still had the gun under her pillow. I kept thinking about what had happened. I was trying to decipher what they'd been saying today. All of the little details were buzzing through my brain as I attempted to crack the code.

Finally I gave up on sleep when the clock on the bedside table flashed 1:37 am. I decided to walk around the room a bit, maybe get the neurons firing better. I slipped out of bed as quietly as I could. Then I stretched and started to pace for a bit.

Just then I heard a soft knock on the door for the second time in twenty four hours. My heart raced and I glanced at my mom. She stiffened for a moment, her fingers twitching toward her pillow, then she rolled over and her breathing returned to normal. There was another knock.

It occurred to me that the Edison Group wouldn't really be knocking, so I decided to throw caution to the wind and look through the peep hole. I did. There was no one there.

This whole thing was making me go crazy. Then I realized it wasn't _my_ door that was being knocked on.

"Chloe…" It was Derek's voice, strained and rough. I heard a faint knock again. Then the sound of door itself, opening slowly.

"Hold on." Chloe's voice now, soft. "I'm just gonna tell Tori where we're going." Tori? Wait, where were they going? I heard a slight rustling through the paper-thin walls, some more soft voices, and then the door again.

I was sick of secrets, of not knowing what was going on. It was time for some answers.

I grabbed my jacket off of the chair and tip-toed outside to follow them.

I tried to move as quietly as possible. I called on the years of experience for living in a house with multiple siblings and the adaptive trait of moving silent so as not to wake the younger ones taking their naps.

The wind picked up and was blowing in my face. I pulled my jacket on tighter. Lucky for me, though, it also carried their conversation right back to me.

"…should be faster this time," Chloe was saying. Derek grunted. "You've completed it twice, so-"

Chloe's sentence was cut off as she noticed Derek beginning to scratch furiously at his arm. She grabbed his hand to stop him. Derek looked down at her hand, like he'd only just noticed his odd behavior. What was _his_ deal?

Chloe kept a firm grip on his hand to keep him from scratching more. He looked down at her again and cleared his throat. "Are you okay?"

Why do _you_ care?

"I'm thinking about Rae…" Good. I need some answers.

"I know you don't like it, Chloe, but she already betrayed us once. We can't give her any reason to do it again."

"I kn-know. B-but my aunt-"

"-was going to sacrifice herself so we could escape. I'm pretty sure Rae's motives were a bit more personal. Her mom is just trying to protect Rae, but she could still turn against us if she has to. And while I don't think Rae's going to murder us in our sleep, if she's got a chance to save her own skin, she's not going to stop and worry about us." What a jerk. He's got some nerve talking about me like that behind my back. After all he did to Chloe- harassing her, throwing her across the room, chewing her out all of the time- now after one little mistake, he's turning her against me! I was furious.

"Besides, I think there are some things that we definitely need to keep quiet," Derek continued. We were entering the woods now. It was harder to move quietly and even harder to hear their conversation. "We can't give them any information that they could use against us." His voice dropped and I had to strain to catch the most important part of the conversation. "She can't know about Tori being a mixed spellcaster, or about me, or Liam, or-"

"Davidoff?" Chloe said, something strange in her voice.

"Yeah… or Davidoff," Derek said a bit reluctantly it seemed. "Listen, about-"

"Derek! You're Changing!" Her voice was shrill, urgent. They had stopped now, and they were standing in a small clearing. I ducked behind a tree and tried desperately to figure out what they were talking about. It seemed that I was getting more questions than answers. They'd said something about Tori- what was a mixed spellcaster? And what about Davidoff? Who was Liam? I made a mental note to ask my mother- she might know a little more about all of this.

From my spot behind the tree I could only make out snippets of the conversation.

"…can sit here." Derek's voice, sounding awful; stressed and desperate.

"…w-won't b-be able to go sh-shopping for awhile, you need…" Shopping? They were discussing _shopping?_ Wasn't that _Tori's_ deparment?

There was some movement, a bit of rustling, then Chloe saying, "You're going to be okay." Her voice was soft and comforting. It was bizarre and out of place. There was a noise from Derek, somewhere between a grunt and a whimper. "…completed it now…know you can…" Then there was this awful snapping sound.

I couldn't make heads or tails of it. Slowly, I peeked out from behind the tree.

Chloe was kneeling beside Derek, rubbing his back, whispering. Derek was on all fours and- in his boxers. I didn't really have time to speculate about that though, because the rest of his appearance was far more startling than his- I blinked- incredibly toned muscles.

He was on all fours, his nails digging into the dirt, whole body tense, his head down, hair hanging in his face, back shooting up at an unnatural angle, skin coated in sweat, and when I took a few tentative steps forward, I saw that _hair_ was sprouting all over his skin.

Another sickening snap, and he contorted; twisting and thrashing and-

I had to get out of there.

I didn't know what was going on, and suddenly I didn't want to. He kept contorting and I remembered being at the lab and hearing murmurs about Derek. Murmurs that I chose to ignore because I didn't care about him. Murmurs that I'd forgotten and that spelled out the most important thing I needed to know about him.

He was dangerous.

And now I saw that he was more than that. He was a monster. His less-than-human behavior now made sense because he was just that- inhuman_._ He was a- I couldn't even wrap my head around it!

How could Chloe just sit there like nothing was happening? Derek's shoulders were widening, face lengthening, _fur_ growing- and she just stayed there, _watching_, whispering, being calm and supportive.

This was insane. It was suicide. She was there, comforting a _werewolf_. A bloodthirsty monster!

The transformation was coming to an end. The werewolf was nearly finished with the shift that would change it into a powerful beast. All of the sudden, it turned its head and looked straight at me. Its piercing, glowing green eyes spotting me in the shadows and a look past over them that chilled my blood and-

And I was getting out of there.

I spun around and ran as fast as I could, not caring that I was making a racket, not caring that twigs whipped in my face and leaves snagged in my hair. I was going back to the motel, getting Mom, and we were leaving.

But I was in further than I'd thought, and running through the undergrowth was proving a challenge. I swore as I tripped over a root. I scrambled to my feet and kept going, running, and running until-

Something _big_ knocked me down. I twisted and saw a huge black wolf pinning me to the ground. It growled, revealing _enormous_ and extremely sharp fangs. Its eyes were green orbs of loathing.

I summoned my power, feeble as it was, and press my hand against its chest, attempting to burn it.

It didn't even flinch.

**So, what'd ya think? I hope you liked it! I had a lot of trouble with this chapter. I mean **_**a lot**_**. This is seriously like the third draft! Originally the dialogue was longer, but then I remembered that they probably wouldn't have enough time, so I cut like three pages. Then the dialogue didn't make sense, so I had to add a bit more, then I had to edit, and edit again, then the end got a makeover…**

**Anyways, enough of my ramblings- REVIEW PLEASE! And give me some ideas too please *puppy dog eyes* 'cause I feel some major writers block a comin' on.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: yeah, I don't have much of an excuse. Sorry about the wait guys- but like I said, writers block, I actually did have to get started on my English project, HP's 30****th**** birthday Saturday (and yes, I did celebrate), recently broke up with my boyfriend, and I'm on the committee for my friend's surprise birthday party…but you probably don't care. ;P**

**On a side note- anyone see a very potter sequel? It was (say it with me) totally awesome! XD**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I am nowhere near creative enough to have written the Darkest Powers series.**

_Something __big__ knocked me down. I twisted and saw a huge black wolf pinning me to the ground. It growled, revealing __enormous__ and extremely sharp fangs. Its eyes were green orbs of loathing._

_I summoned my power, feeble as it was, and press my hand against its chest, attempting to burn it._

_It didn't even flinch._

I twisted, writhing beneath it, but I couldn't escape. Its growl deepened, teeth flashing. Its weight was too much for me. I couldn't fight it off. I sucked in a breath, preparing to scream, but a hand clapped over my mouth. I struggled against it, adrenaline pumping. I kept thinking that I had to get away. I needed to get back to Mom; if I can get to Mom everything will be okay…

"Rae!" Chloe's voice cut through my struggles. "Rae! Stop! Calm down, you're- R-Rae y-you're _hurting_ him!" What?

I looked up and saw that my hand was still on the beast's chest. I guess my powers were working after all. I smiled. Maybe I could win this fight yet.

I concentrated harder; focusing on my powers, tunneling my emotions, bringing it to a point. I let the heat flow through me to my hand, willing my powers to work, to burn it. The wolf yelped and backed down just long enough for me to get the upper hand. I scuttled back, away from the monster. Chloe's hand tightened its grip, pulling me down toward her.

"Rae!" she cried, panicked. "Oh my God! Rae, you just-" I put my hand over hers, still desperate to get away and she fell back with a yelp. I scrambled to my feet. In an instant, the wolf was in front of me, snarling and snapping its teeth. My eyes widened. It was going to attack me, I knew it, but before I could turn and run, Chloe jumped between me and the wolf. She had her back to me, facing it. Her arms were spread wide, like she was protecting me.

"Derek, calm down," She said. She was using that voice again, the soft and urgent one. What was wrong with her?

"Chloe are you _insane?_" I shrieked. I tugged on her arm. "That _thing_ is going to kill us! Let's get out of here!" I tried to turn, but she spun around as well, using her grip on my arm to her advantage. She twisted my hand and managed to get my wrist in a hold. We were facing each other now, and I could see her eyes flash with anger.

"_Derek_ isn't going to hurt anybody," she said, anger dripping from her words. She shook her head, then said calmer, "Look, there's some things we need to explain, Derek isn't-"

"No," I said, surprising myself. "I don't care anymore. Mom was right. We shouldn't have gotten involved. We're leaving."

"Rae-"

"No!" She yanked her hand away, eyes wide. I looked down at my arm, realizing I must have burned her again. The wolf growled. I look up and saw it creeping up next to Chloe, fur standing on end, eyes locked with mine. I inched back, eyeing it warily, but it stopped when it was level with Chloe. She looked down at it and placed a tentative hand on its back. It stopped growling and seemed to relax a bit.

"What-?" I began, but Chloe cut me off.

"He's still Derek, Rae." Her voice was softer, but I could sense a bit of desperation beneath her words. "He's not a monster." She twisted the last word, like it was sour in her mouth.

I glanced back and forth between the two of them. Thoughts and ideas whirred around my brain. I couldn't pick one out long enough to focus on it. I was scared and confused and she wasn't making sense. Some part of me knew, in the very back of my mind, that this was insanity. Maybe she right, but I couldn't bring myself to comprehend this. Before, when I'd followed them out into the woods, I'd wanted answers, but now that I was getting them I didn't want them. Some secrets are better left that way.

I was done.

"I can't-" I shook my head, trying to clear it. "I can't do this. This is too much. Too…" I gestured around, waiting for the right word to come to me. "…messed up. Too freaky. I'm done." I backed away, testing their reaction. Neither of them moved. Then I turned and began jogging back to the motel. I kept casting nervous glance backwards, looking to see if they were following. Tears threatened, the events of the past couple of months catching up to me. I didn't even know what I was running from anymore; Chloe and the wolf, The Edison Group, the Cabal, myself…

In a matter of weeks, my life had turned upside-down, and it was finally occurring to me just how far gone I was. Nothing was the same anymore- not my family, not my powers, not even the people that I'd thought were just as lost as I was. This new world I was a part of now was suffocating me. I couldn't look at anything rationally anymore, because all logical explanations were void. It was a world where anything could happen- _anything_ could jump out at me now. As I ran, I kept expecting that to happen, something to jump out and scare me like some low-budget horror movie.

Nothing did.

When I got back to the motel, I woke Mom up. Once she recovered from being shaken awake at two in the morning and put the gun down, I told her everything. Derek and Chloe sneaking out, me following them, their conversation (the bits I could remember), Derek changing into a- into a-

Well, you know the rest.

She was shocked at first, but soon recovered. "I should have known that's what he was. I've heard things about wolves- they're dangerous. You don't want to mess with them…" She shook her head then muttered something to herself that sounded like "chainsaws…", but I couldn't be sure. She looked back at me "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" I had some scrapes and bruises from running through the woods, but nothing major.

"I'm fine," I said and she nodded.

We started packing right away, agreeing that the sooner we left, the better. It took awhile to get everything together, though. We'd been staying at this motel for four days now, so all of our stuff was all spread out. I finished packing up my things,so I offered to finish Mom's bag while she checked us out. She agreed and left. All of the sudden I remembered that I'd left my toothbrush in the bathroom. When I emerged, I heard raised voices in the next room.

"WHAT?" It was Simon's voice. I guess they found out what had happened. "You can't be serious- she just _ran off_?"

"There must be a way we can convince them to stay," said Mr. Bae, considerably calmer than his son.

"Why?" Tori's voice was filled with distaste. "We found out that they were safe. Mission accomplished."

There was a pause, then Chloe said something softer, "I-I t-t-thought there'd be some c-closure, I guess…"

"No, you thought that she would apologize for betraying you and you'd be BFF's again," I could practically hear the glare in her voice. "Well, guess what? She didn't. She's still looking out for her own best interest, and right now, it's in her best interests to get away from the freaks. I don't know why you're all so surprised." I felt a fierce rush of hatred toward Tori. _She's_ one to talk, I thought. Then Simon spoke up again.

"We can't just let them leave thinking that we're all-"

"Monsters?" I shuttered when I heard Derek's voice. "Newsflash: we kinda are."

"Derek, you know that's not-"

"No, Chloe, he's right." Tori seemed to have shocked them all into silence. "We are _all_ monsters. We've _all_ been experimented on, Rae included."

"Where are you going?" Mr. Bae asked.

"I'm going to remind her that she's a monster too." She paused and I heard their door open. Then she said softly, as if to herself, "We don't need another Margret." The door slammed shut and seconds later I heard her bang her fist on my door. I glanced toward the back, wondering if I should make a run for it. Then she spoke up. "Rae! You've got about _five_ seconds 'til I blast this door off its hinges! Five…Four…Three…" I dashed towards the back. "Two…One!"

The door crashed open and a wave of energy hit me, making me stumble a bit. I spun around and saw Tori standing in the doorway, hand extend. The door was still on its hinges, but there was a jagged hole about the size of my fist in the wall where the deadbolt had held the lock in.

Tori stepped into the room, swinging the door shut behind her. Then she leaned back against it, folding her arms across her chest. Her eye blazed and her hair stood on end. It looked electrically charged. I swear I saw sparks shooting from her fingertips.

I stood up straighter, fists clenched at my sides. Tori didn't scare me. She was just some diva who felt like taking out her frustration on me. And you can bet I wasn't going to let some whiny little rich girl intimidate me.

Time to fight fire with fire.

**Sooooooo, what's you think? Just press that pretty little button please and let me know- was it good? Bad? OOC? How was Rae? Tori? Who do you think will emerge the victor? *raises eyebrows* Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: hey hey people! I hope you don't hate me too much for the wait (writer's block has claimed yet another victim). I actually finished this chapter around 12:30 last night. What is it with me and late-night writing sessions? 'Cause apparently, that's the only time I can finish a chapter .lol Anywhomever- thank you all bunches for the awesome reviews! They truly make my day****! So, without further ado- here's chapter six!**

**Disclaimer: yeah, still don't own Darkest Powers**

_I stood up straighter, fists clenched at my sides. Tori didn't scare me. She was just some diva who felt like taking out her frustration on me. And you can bet I wasn't going to let some whiny little rich girl intimidate me._

_Time to fight fire with fire._

"I don't like you, Rae," Tori said in a sharp matter-of-fact tone. "So I really don't care if you leave or not. No," She frowned. "scratch that- I would _really_ prefer it if you left."

"You've got _some_ nerve, you know that?" I said, cutting to the chase. "After everything you've done, Queen Victoria, you have no right to come in here-" Her eyes blazed and her hands shot out. I raised my own to defend myself, but I didn't get to do any more than that. I couldn't move. I couldn't talk. I couldn't do anything. Fury burned like a flame inside of me.

"What _I've_ done?" She advanced on me. "You have no idea what _I've_ done- what we all have had to do after what _you_ did." Whatever was keeping me still seemed to break and I shot back at her.

"Oh, please, you were in the lab for, what, _two_ days? You didn't go though whatever it is you went through because of _me_." I took a step towards her. "What exactly was so traumatic about the past couple of months anyway?"

She laughed a humorless laugh. "You really want to know? Alright." She took another step forward. "While you were safe and sound having your little reunion with Mommy," I clenched my fists. "we were sleeping in alleys, being chased by guys with guns, street girls, and zombies. Then, when we finally got to the 'safe' house-" She used her fingers to put air quotes around the word 'safe'. "- no one believed us, so they decided to take matters into their own hands by hiring a pair of homicidal werewolves to off Chloe and Derek-" I flinched. "- And when _that_ didn't work, they sent us straight back to the lab where we had to…where they…" Angry tears sprung to her eyes as bright balls of energy swirled around her balled-up fists. Was this what she was doing? These people made her life hell and now she was taking it out on me? Making me a scapegoat?

"Well that sucks," I said, contempt edging into my voice. "But why the hell are you taking it out on _me_?"

Her hands flew out and I felt myself being thrown backward. My head hit the wall with an ugly _twack_. Stars leapt in front of my eyes as I mentally cursed Tori.

"It's all about _you_, isn't it Rae?" Tori spat. I looked up to see her bearing down on me, hands on hips and eyes crazed.

My head throbbed. _Damn_, she must have hit me with one hell of a spell. I rubbed the back of my head with one hand and pushed myself up with the other. Once I got to my feet, I lunged. She tried to twist out of my reach, but I made contact, fingers grabbing her wrist. I summoned my powers, once more using that rage inside of me to create heat. Tori let out a shriek and I knew it must have worked.

The door crashed open and we flew apart. My head hit the wall again. When my vision cleared, I looked up.

Mr. Bae stood in the doorway, his hands splayed. Behind him, I caught a glimpse of the others. I stiffened when I saw Derek. They stormed into the room, Mr. Bae in the lead. He looked furious.

"What the _hell_ is going on here?" Only it wasn't Mr. Bae's voice that rang out through the room, but my mother's. She marched in, gun clenched firmly in her hand. She caught sight of me on the floor and ran over, her expression going from outrage to fear and concern. She helped me to my feet, all the while making sure that the gun never left its target. She faced them, one hand still keeping me close to her, like if she let go someone would snatch me away.

"Leave," she said. "All of you."

Mr. Bae raised his hands, this time in a symbol of peace. "Jacinda…" he said, trying to calm her down.

"_Now_."

"Jacinda, your daughter needs medical attention," Dr. Fellows said reasonably. "She could have a concussion."

"_What?_" Tori said, incredulous.

"Because of what you people did!"

"Oh this is ridiculous!" Tori said, rolling her eyes. Her hands flew up and I froze. Again.

"Tori!" Mr. Bae scolded, but she wasn't listening. Instead, she strode over to my mom and pried the gun from her hands. Whatever spell she'd used on me must have hit her too. Tori took the gun and set it down on the bedside table across the room. I noticed that she was favoring her right hand, the one I hadn't burned.

Dr. Fellows must have noticed too because she spoke up. "Tori, you need to let me put some bandages on that arm."

Mr. Bae looked over at her, genuine concern in his eyes, but it was Simon who sputtered and said, "She burned you too?"

"Yeah, she did," Tori said, exasperated. "And now we can try and convince her not to do it again." She waved at us.

"Tori, they're not our _prisoners_," Mr. Bae said. She sighed and waved her hand. I felt the spell break and I immediately lashed out.

"Hey!" I said.

"_Listen_," Mr. Bae said, desperate. "Can we please just sit down and have a civilized conversation? Apparently, there's been a bit of a misunderstanding-"

"A _misunderstanding?_" Mom said, clearly outraged. "That _thing-_" She pointed at Derek. "- attacked my daughter." Derek opened his mouth to defend himself, but Chloe beat him to it.

"Derek didn't do anything!" She shouted.

"Chloe…" Derek put a hand on her shoulder, but she shook it off.

"You _followed_ us into the woods!" She started towards me. "You were spying on us! You snuck up on us! Of course we defended ourselves, but we didn't even hurt you!" Who was this girl with daggers in her glare? This wasn't the nervous, stuttering Chloe I remembered from Lyle House.

"You burned them!" Simon said, stepping forward. "Derek never hurt you!"

"That's enough," Mr. Bae said with such forcefulness and authority, even my mother seemed to back down. "We are going to discuss this calmly and peacefully, okay?" He turned to my mother and me. "Like I said, there's been a misunderstanding." He held up a hand when mom began to protest. "If you would give us a minute to explain, then maybe we can figure this out. I understand that, under the circumstances, you are being cautious about trusting us. You need to remember, we're not the enemies. And the people that _are_ the enemies can pick us off easier if we become divided. We're on the same side, you need to remember that. We _all_ need to remember that." He threw a look at Tori who glanced down at her feet. "We need to stick together." He made an attempt at a smile and looked to us for a response.

I glanced up at my mom. I could see the gears turning in her mind and I knew she was thinking the same thing: 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend.' Well, I certainly wasn't going to become besties with Tori, but at this point, we really didn't have any other options but to listen to them. I couldn't see any way around it.

Mom must have reached the same conclusion as I had, because she nodded at Mr. Bae and he smiled. Then he turned back to the others. Tori was still standing in the corner with her arms crossed and looking severely annoyed. Simon and Chloe wore similar expressions of anxious determination. Only Derek's face remained unreadable. Mr. Bae paused, assessing them, then turned to his oldest son.

"Derek, why don't you guys go to the other room and watch TV or something while we sort this out." Simon sputtered again, looking shocked that their father expected then to watch television at a time like this.

"If you want us to leave, Dad, just say so," Derek said in a low rumble.

Mr. Bae looked like he was going to deny it, but decided against it. "We'll be in soon," he said. "And check Tori's arm while you're in there."

Derek nodded and opened the door (which was now barely hanging on its hinges) and gestured for the others to go first. Simon went quietly and, after much grumbling and a look from Derek, so did Tori. Chloe hung back, though. When Derek gave her the same look he'd given Tori, she muttered something too low for me to hear. It seemed to convince Derek, though, because after a moment's consideration, he nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

**So there it is! Lemme know what you think. Give me comments, questions, critiques- ANYTHING people! Lol review please!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: hey people- how's it hanging? I'm doin' pretty good- just watching AVPS pretty much constantly (and if I had them I'd be snacking on Redvines lol) Thanks once again for all of these awesome reviews! **** I love you all in a totally non-stalkerish way lol. Okay- this is probably a really stupid question but it's been bugging me for a while and if any of you could answer this in a review or something I'd be completely grateful- how do you know how many hits a story gets? I could quite possibly be looking straight at the answer but it's summer and my brain is currently turned off. Alright- so without further ado: chapter 7**

**Disclaimer: If I was Kelley Armstrong I'd be totally awesome, which I'm not, so I guess I don't own DP.**

_Mr. Bae looked like he was going to deny it, but decided against it. "We'll be in soon," he said. "And check Tori's arm while you're in there."_

_Derek nodded and opened the door (which was now barely hanging on its hinges) and gestured for the others to go first. Simon went quietly and, after much grumbling and a look from Derek, so did Tori. Chloe hung back, though. When Derek gave her the same look he'd given Tori, she muttered something too low for me to hear. It seemed to convince Derek, though, because after a moment's consideration, he nodded and left, closing the door behind him._

"Chloe…" Dr. Fellows began.

"I-I'm not going to stay," Chloe said, looking between her and Mr. Bae. "I just want to say something to Rae."

There was a moment of awkward silence as everybody turned in my direction.

"What?" I said, a little harsher than necessary, but I wasn't in a good mood.

She sighed impatiently and fidgeted. For some reason, it reminded me of Derek. "Can we please just talk?" She glanced at Mr. Bae. "A-alone?"

Mr. Bae considered for a moment. "Actually," he said. "Why don't you talk to Rae while your Aunt and I discuss things with Jacinda?"

"No," Mom protested. I knew what she was thinking. Could it be a trick? Divide and conquer? I was pretty sure that I could take Chloe if I had to, but Mom would be alone and outnumbered. Not to mention the fact that, without the gun, she was also unarmed. But something told me that it wasn't. Maybe it was the way that Dr. Fellows looked at Chloe with a mixture of disapproval and concern. Concern for her safety. Because of me.

Or perhaps it was just Mr. Bae's welcoming nature. Which was ironic, really, because though clearly wielded the most authority (over everyone, including the only other adult _and _a massive werewolf); I couldn't see him as a threat. He was, now that I think about it, not unlike his son in that respect. I remembered how Simon had always been the one everyone_ liked_ at Lyle House. He was charming and friendly- until he got a chance to get away from us crazy kids and plot with his brother. What I'd mistaken for arrogance was actually concern for their missing father. I'd always wondered why. I figured that if their father had dumped them at Lyle House and taken off, he probably wouldn't be too keen on being found. But now I could see that this clearly wasn't the case. He obviously cared for his sons, and Chloe and Tori, too. Hell, he even seemed concerned for my safety. I guess I never did get the full story of his disappearance.

It was that moment that I truly grasped just _how much_ I'd missed. In this short span of time, they were out finding answers. And when I was given the opportunity to go along with them, I'd refused. I had closed my eyes to the truth in order to spare myself the discomfort of uncovering all of the dirty secrets and deadly lies.

And I'd done it again. Just now, when I'd tried to leave, I'd unknowingly made the same mistake twice. I realized that I couldn't have it both ways. I couldn't just ignore the truths that upset me while I jump to find out more about the good things. It was either the whole story or none of it.

And I realized that I'd rather know. Now more than ever, I _needed_ to know. My life- all of our lives- had become just that- a division between knowledge and uncertainty. You couldn't do anything with ignorance. With facts, you have an understanding of the game, and therefore, you are able to play it. If you don't know all of the rules, you wouldn't even realize that you were losing until it was too late. Because once you realized you were in the game, you had to have the tools to play properly. It's the only way to win.

I put a hand on my mother's shoulder. "I'll go," I said. Ignoring the shocked looks around me, I walked over to Chloe.

"We'll be in thirteen, okay?" Chloe told Mr. Bae. As we headed out the door, I stole a glance at my mom. She had the same expression as Dr. Fellows. I tried to give her what I hoped was a reassuring look and followed Chloe out.

Room thirteen was evidently the guys' room. It was bigger than the room Mom and I occupied and included a couch as well as two beds. A blanket was strewn across the couch. Fast food wrappers and various bits of clothing (which I could only guess belonged to Simon) littered the floor around it.

The other two beds were considerably neater. Having both gotten up in a rush, neither Mr. Bae nor Derek had made their beds. However, the suitcases at the foot of each bed depicted their owners' organization skills clearly. The one at the foot of the bed in the middle of the room appeared to be slightly haphazard, a mediator between the other two. The clothes looked like they had, at one point, been neatly stored, but now clothing leaked out of the edges.

The suitcase at the foot of the bed that was closest to the door was practically sterile. The clothes were all folded neatly, even the sheets on the bed appeared to be less tangled.

While I was taking in my surroundings, Chloe sat down on the bed with the apparently OCD owner. I remained standing.

"I don't like this, Rae," she said, speaking up for the first time since we left the other room. "I mean, we used to be friends, and-"

"Why did you dye your hair?" I asked. She looked up, startled, unconsciously raising a hand to play with a strand of hair. "Just curious," I added lamely.

"My dad had a half a million dollar reward for my return." An odd look passed over her face as she said this. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"

I looked down. "Yeah." I remembered the interview. Chloe's dad was the only parent who'd gone public, so to hide the fact that the Edison Group was keeping Chloe in the lab at the time, they'd made it look like she'd run away.

"Well someone recognized me," she continued. "The streaks were too distinctive, so I needed a disguise."

"But why black?" I asked. I'd have thought she'd get something less…dark.

She laughed. "Actually, I didn't pick out the color. If I had, it would have been _anything_ but black." She paused and a look of guilt passed over her face. "I-I m-mean i-it does the j-job. I d-did need a disguise and it-"

"Cut the crap," I said. "Who?"

She blushed. "Derek. Like I said- it works. And it's fading a bit now…"

I rolled my eyes. "You're too nice." I was totally serious, but she laughed when I said that.

"That's what Tori would say."

I ignored her. "But why are you defending _him_? He's a- I mean he's-"

"Not a monster," Chloe said, shooting me a glare. She sighed. "I guess I should start from the beginning. Do you remember the night we escaped from Lyle House, how we couldn't find Derek? Well, when you and Simon went ahead, I _did_ find him. He was behind the shed, going through his first Change. I found exactly what you found tonight in the woods. Of course, back then it was only a pre-run, so he didn't turn into a full-blown wolf yet." She caught sight of the look on my face and rushed to explain. "But Rae, he was _terrified_ by the Change. I had to stay and help him through it. And it's still him. When he Changes. Derek is still Derek, just in wolf form." She looked almost desperate. Like it was absolutely vital that I understand this. "Anyway, that's what I wanted to tell you." She started to get up.

"Wait!" I said. She paused "I need to know what happened. I've decided…" I paused, searching for the right words. "I decided that I don't want to be in the dark anymore." Chloe sat back down.

"Tell me everything," I said, mind made up.

So she did.

**So what'd you think? Comments? Questions? Anything? I tried to make this as in character as possible, but this is a HUGE turning point for Rae. I hope you liked her little epiphany and it wasn't too OOC. Let me know your thoughts, please!**

**PS- just so you know- Chloe doesn't exactly tell her **_**everything**_** there are some surprises still awaiting our little protagonist **


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: hey stranger. Yeah, I know, it's been a while. But I made myself a promise not to write anymore until I was finished with my summer work. So I didn't. Plus I had my friend's surprise party (it went off without a hitch- she loved the red vines I got her- they are as delicious as they say lol) Then I wrote in the long-ass car ride to go see Jeff Dunham (who by the way is a comical genius). And believe me, writing in a moving vehicle is easier said than done :P. **

**As always, here's a shout-out to my reviewers: DreamDark, C.K. (yay! You're the only one who commented on AVPS- love ya for it!), Miss WolfGirl10, WinterMidnight, suzi1811 (sorry but I figure his burns probably won't be bad enough to need special treatment- plus he'd be more worried about the others), -Katherine-Alvers-, NatashaAlyse (sorry they're so short, this one's a little longer I think), and Derekandchloe4ever. I love you all!**

**Disclaimer: In case you haven't figured it out yet, I don't own Darkest Powers.**

_"Wait!" I said. She paused "I need to know what happened. I've decided…" I paused, searching for the right words. "I decided that I don't want to be in the dark anymore." Chloe sat back down._

_"Tell me everything," I said, mind made up._

_So she did._

I rolled down the window to get some air. I was sitting in the passenger's seat of the car with my mom driving next to me and everyone's luggage in the back. I breathed deeply, enjoying the view of the sun beginning to peak over the tops of the trees.

It was a predominantly silent trip. My mother and I were still pretty shaken from the night's events. Not to the mention the fact that neither of us had gotten much sleep over the past twenty-four hours. But mostly it was because we were both just trying to make sense of what had happened.

We were heading west a bit. After everything that had happened we all decided that we needed a change of scenery. Well, that and the fact that the damages to the door could prove ostentatious. We had been in Michigan before, so now we were skating along the Canadian border into Minnesota.

I smiled. If anything good had come from all of this, it would be the increasing probability that I'd see the entire country before I turned eighteen. Then another thought occurred to me: Would we be on the run that long? Longer?

Would any of us even live to see eighteen?

The thought snuck in before I could control it. I felt as though it'd been threatening to pop up for awhile now. The possibility of our deaths loomed before me, illuminated by my recent discussion with Chloe.

Chloe and I had spent almost two hours talking. Well, she talked, I listened. I didn't interrupt until, that is, she got to the part about the zombies.

"What do you mean you _accidentally raised_ him?" I'd asked, my voice rising in panic.

She had bitten her lip and given me a somber look. "I shouldn't be able to do that, I know. Rae, we've been experimented on. Those scientists played God, messed us up, and now they're paying the price."

"But that's-"

"Impossible?" She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "That's what I thought. That's what we all thought. But that's not even the worst of it…"

She'd continued on; telling me about ghosts and living on the streets, the girls with the knives. Chloe told me about how they'd gotten split up when Derek got off the bus for his second Change, then about the encounter with the werewolves (I'd shuttered, remembering). She had talked about a cemetery of zombies, Liam and Ramon's return, the lab, the demi-demon (that had sparked my interest, but Chloe pretended not to notice), and finally, their escape. She had gotten through most of it without stuttering. Until she reached the end, that is.

"…T-then Kit showed up a-and we w-were able t-t-to escape…then we ran." She wouldn't meet my eyes, but I wasn't paying attention. All I had been able to think about was Andrew and his colleagues. I couldn't help but think that she'd been comparing them to me when she described how Andrew thought he'd been justified in doing what he did.

"Andrew's betrayal was a low blow," she'd said, confirming my suspicions. "Especially for Simon. We didn't want to tell you all of this before because, well-"

"You were being cautious," I had finished, offering a small smile. "I get it."

I could see how this was affecting her; there were dark circles under her eyes, and I could see the marks on her arm from where the stitches had been. But Chloe's eyes shone with a bright sort of energy that proved that though she'd gone through hell, she had emerged. Not only intact, but it had made her stronger.

What had it made me?

At that point, Chloe had broken eye contact and slid of the bed she was sitting on. I frowned when she began to dig in the suitcase of its owner.

"What are you-?" Chloe had emerged, flourishing a large jacket. She looked up innocently at the sound of my voice.

"I'm cold," she'd stated simply. Then she'd slipped the jacket over her shoulders. It looked enormous, dwarfing her already small frame. "He won't mind."

I'd been about to ask _who_ wouldn't mind, but, with a start, I'd realized that it was _Derek's_ jacket. I had wrinkled my nose, thinking that it probably smelled gross. I'd been about to say something but thought better of it. After all, I'm not Tori.

But that reminded me of something.

"Tonight, when I followed you guys into the woods…" Chloe frowned and I realized what I'd just said, but it was too late now. Besides, I had to know. "Derek said that you should keep certain things secret…" I trailed off, hoping she'd catch my drift.

"And you want to make sure I told you everything," She'd frowned, eyes downcast. "Yeah, I left some things out," she had admitted. A wave of fury had rushed through me and I opened my mouth to say something, but she fixed me with a look so fierce, I stalled. "But I've told you everything that you need to know. That's how we're going to keep this; on a need-to-know basis."

Translation: Be happy with what I've told you, because I still don't trust you.

Her look had vanished, replaced by something that looked a little like pity. There was something else too; it looked like…guilt? "Besides, the other stuff is m-mostly…I s-shouldn't be the one to tell you. I-it's n-none of my business," she'd finished weakly.

Translation: It's none of _your_ business, either.

I was pretty content, however. I finally felt like I was in the loop. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that whatever she wasn't telling me was pretty important.

Soon after that, we'd all decided to leave. The others took Mr. Bae's van and put the luggage in the back of my mom's car. He'd said it was because there was more room in our backseat, but we knew what it really was: collateral. They were desperate for us to trust them, and this was just a small gesture to try and prove that they weren't going to just abandon us somewhere.

Mom and I had compared stories and found that we'd both been told the same thing. That reassured me at first, but that feeling wouldn't go away.

I tried to recall what had been said when Chloe and Derek were walking in the woods. I wanted to compare it to what Chloe had told me. The conversation seemed like it'd happened a year ago, and my memory was fuzzy.

Derek had mentioned Liam. I remembered that much. He had also mentioned himself. Well, I knew now that he meant that he didn't want me to know that he was a werewolf. And so was Liam. But Liam was a bad guy. He had tried to kill them both, but why keep that a secret? Why not warn me? Chloe had said that Derek had fought Liam and Ramon, but they were already injured, so he managed to knock out Liam, and Ramon had decided to call it a draw.

Maybe it wasn't about what they _did_ so much as what they _are_. Liam and Ramon were killers. Maybe Derek didn't want me to think that all werewolves were like that. Yeah, that made sense. After all, Chloe kept saying things like that- how Derek wasn't a monster and that he was in control in his wolf form.

But then there was the rest of the conversation. Something about Tori…

She was a mixed spellcaster. That was it. I'd asked my mom what that meant, and she said that from what she's heard, a mixed spellcaster is a person who has both sorcerer and witch blood. It also meant that she had extra power that had nothing to do with the genetic modification. I'd definitely seen _that_ side of her. Tori's powers were strong, but, then again, so were Chloe's. I guess that's what she meant by 'none of my buisness'. Not that I really cared about Tori anyway.

There was something else too. I closed my eyes, recalling the conversation.

"_We can't give them any information that they could use against us." His voice dropped and I had to strain to catch the most important part of the conversation. "She can't know about Tori being a mixed spellcaster, or about me, or Liam, or-"_

"_Davidoff?" Chloe said, something strange in her voice._

"_Yeah… or Davidoff," Derek said a bit reluctantly it seemed. "Listen, about-"_

But Derek didn't get to finish his sentence. He had begun to Change and I never did find out what about Davidoff was so important that I couldn't find out about it. I racked my brain, trying to come up with any possible explanation as to why he should not have been brought up.

I sighed and winced as the action sent a sharp pain across my scalp.

Mom turned to me, concern etched on her face. "Something wrong?" she asked.

"Headache," I murmured. I wasn't surprised. I hadn't gotten any sleep last night and the stress from the whole situation was making my head throb.

I rubbed my temples with my fingertips and stared out the window, mentally cursing Chloe and the others for this mess we were in. Then, to be fair, I cursed the Edison Group a bit, too.

It wasn't long before my body's natural defense caught up with me. I must have slept a good hour and a half before my mom shook me awake, telling me that we had arrived.

Still a little sleep-drunk, I tumbled out of the car. I looked up and saw the others piling out of the van as well. Tori and Simon led the way, bickering in earnest. I guess that newfound camaraderie only worked when they had a common enemy. I wanted to tell the divas to get a room, but I couldn't muster up the energy.

Mr. Bae and Dr. Fellows started to head our way, but Derek's arm shot out to stop them. Beside him, I could see Chloe looking uneasy. I moved closer to see what was going on.

Derek was telling Mr. Bae something in a low voice. The latter caught sight of us and waved us over. I could tell from the look on his face that something was very wrong.

**Well, there you have it. I hope it was worth the wait. Review pretty please! And if someone would be kind enough to answer my previous question about how to find out how many hits your story gets, I will be eternally grateful (and that, btw, comes with eternal servitude- let me know how you like your eggs lol)**


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